Author's Notes:
I literally have hundreds of people reading my story, a dozen followers and a few favorites. I'm not complaining because some authors don't even have that, but I would like a few more reviews. The more reviews you give, the better my writing will get. Please review, it doesn't take long. To those that have reviewed thank you and please continue supporting my story. I should have a new story out in a few days, so you can look forward to that.
When Naruto reached his apartment there was an ANBU standing in front of his door. Naruto walked past him and unlocked his room and walked in. He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He then took some soap and rubbed it on his face before splashing more water on it. He then dried off his face and put his mask on.
"I take it that Tsunade-sama wants to see me?" Naruto asked the ANBU. The ANBU just nodded. "And being that you are the one they sent, I'm in some kind of trouble?" The ANBU just stepped back and cleared the path to the door. Naruto took the hint and walked out of it, locking it behind the other ANBU.
The took off at what a civilian would call a sprint, but to them was more of a light jog. Once the reached the Hokage's mansion, 3 more ANBU stepped into place around Naruto. Naruto looked around at them. They started escorting him up the stairs and down the hall to the Hokage's office. Once inside, Naruto got down on one knee, put a hand down on the floor and bowed his head.
"Yes Tsunade-sama?" he said.
"I have evidence that you are an accomplice to the murderer that's been killing ANBU."
"What? The Leaf is my home! Why would I betray it?"
"That's a good question. One I hope you have an answer to. Now the evidence is: first, you remove key points of evidence from the murder sites. Then you cover up two new murders, and finally you do absolutely nothing to find this guy."
"So that automatically places me in league with this guy?"
"Unless you have explicit proof that you are not in league with him, then I have no choice but to place you under arrest and give leave to the interrogation department to find out all they can about the first 8 years of your life."
"I will tell you all about it. I have nothing to hide. You want to know why I haven't even looked for this guy yet? Because I already know who it is. This guy is a monster. He wears a black robe and an orange mask with one eye showing. He has a Sharingan, so I assume he either stole it from an Uchiha or someone took his other one. He uses a teleportation jutsu to both dodge attacks and move from place to place quickly. I haven't done anything yet because I was training. I am not strong enough to take this guy on and I know it."
"How do you know all this about him?"
"He kidnapped me when I was 2 and raised me. He trained me until I was 8, I still have nightmares about it. I am planning on killing him, but I am not strong enough yet. Get a Yamanaka in here if you don't believe me."
"I believe you. However, for the remainder of this mission you will be on a three man team. One is an ANBU, just a rank below you, and the other is my apprentice, Haruno Sakura. They will go with you when you train, when you eat, when you sleep, even when you have to piss. Don't do anything stupid," Tsunade said cricking her finger at the door. An ANBU in a mask painted like a hawk appeared and bowed in a similar fashion to Naruto. A woman in a red shirt, black shorts and practical ninja shoes walked in. "You are now working with Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. He will fill in on the details of his mission. You are not to let him out of your sights. If he does anything suspicious, try and capture him alive. You may go."
Naruto and the other ANBU bowed their heads. Sakura said "Hai!" and they all walked out of the building together. Sakura led the way to a secluded part of the forest near the training grounds. Naruto started explaining the situation, who the enemy was, how strong he was, how weak they were compared to him.
"Hn," was the ANBU's only reaction.
Sakura got annoyed and started yelling, "This man is trying to explain the situation so why don't you just sit there and listen instead of ignoring sound advice!"
"Because, I am not that weak compared to anyone. Not even Itachi. Not this baka, and definitely not some masked punk that kills just to get his hands bloody. The only reason I am still here is because Tsunade-sama ordered us not to let this baka out of our sights so I won't. If your going to train, start now, because you won't have time later," the ANBU said, addressing the last part to Naruto.
Naruto nodded and took his mask off. Sakura looked him in the eye and found something trustworthy there, something warm in his ice blue eyes. Naruto ran a hand through his hair, the messy spikes ignoring all attempts to tame them, and sighed. Then he walked onto the training field and started training. He trained for hours, stopping at about 6.
He then started running back to his apartment. Once inside, he took off his shirt, the harness, and his shoes. He walked into the bathroom, the ANBU following him inside. Naruto just sighed and took his pants off while stepping in the shower. He showered for about 30 minutes before stepping out and drying off. He walked out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around him, making Sakura blush. He went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of green boxers, some orange jeans, and an orange button up shirt with black sleeves. He put it all on, slipping the boxers up under the towel. He put a hitai-ate on, wrapping it around his forehead. He walked over to his standing wardrobe and pulled out a crimson robe with a black flame pattern on the bottom of it, it was given to him when he mastered sage jutsu at Mount Myoboku. He then stepped out of the apartment, locking it behind the other two ninja, and headed off in a fast paced walk.
He arrived at the Hyuga compound main gate 5 minutes early and knocked on it. It was answered by a male Hyuga, probably in his 30's. Naruto asked for Hinata. The Hyuga closed the gate. Naruto leaned on one of the pillars holding an awning up over the gate. The gate opened a few minutes later and Naruto started. He looked around surprised before noticing Hinata. She hadn't gone all fancy but she didn't dress casually either.
Hinata was wearing a purple blouse, top two buttons unbuttoned to give a small view of the top of her cleavage, and some skin tight gray jeans. She wasn't wearing much makeup, just some lip gloss. Naruto looked at her enthralled. Hinata blushed at the way he was looking at her. Then Hinata noticed the ANBU and the woman standing behind Naruto.
"Um, Naruto-kun? W-why is there an A-ANBU a-and a g-girl standing behind y-you?" she asked in a voice barely over a whisper.
"Oh, them? They are my partner's. We are working a case together. They aren't supposed to let me leave their sight, so they are coming with us."
"O-okay."
"Shall we go?" Naruto asked, covering up his nervousness by smiling wide and placing a hand behind his head. Hinata nodded and they started walking down the street together.
They walked slowly, talking about random things (let's be honest: Naruto was talking and Hinata said one or two word responses every once in a while). They reached the restaurant after half an hour. They walked in and were seated at a table for four. The ANBU didn't order anything and just sat there, Sakura ordered a drink but no food. Naruto and Hinata ate a 3-course meal with some soft drinks. When they were done, Naruto paid and they went off walking again.
They wandered around, Hinata not paying much attention to her surroundings. Naruto was leading her in a winding path to one of his favorite spots in the whole village. He led her to a small incline, a not very steep way to walk up the cliff. Hinata was paying attention to Naruto and the sound of his voice. Naruto lead her to the top of the cliff with the five Hokage's faces on it. He sat down at the tree that was right over his fathers face. Hinata sat down next to him.
"This is my favorite spot in the whole village. The view of the village is astounding and you can watch the sun set and rise just past the forests on either side of the village. I especially love the colors the sunset makes the clouds, the oranges and pinks, the greens, the purples," Naruto said looking up at the clouds. Hinata looked around, feeling a sense of awe at the magnificent sight before her.
The Hidden Leaf was sprawled out lazily in front of her, with a sense of neatness. At the edge of the village the forest closed in on the walls surrounding it. To the west the sun was half down, bottom part under the trees, the clouds painted orange and pink and purple. The clouds floated through the sky, making fantastical shapes. The birds flew past, dancing and playing with each other while searching for a place to rest for the night.
"Isn't it beautiful? The landscape, the clouds, the sunset... it all makes this an ideal place to live doesn't it?" Naruto said.
"H-Hai, Naruto-kun. It's b-beautiful," Hinata said breathlessly. Sakura was looking around in awe, not thinking that any man could be sensitive enough to genuinely find a place like this to be his favorite.
"What do you think Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked without looking away from the sky.
"It's, it's beautiful. I don't know how to describe it," Sakura said looking around some more.
Naruto just smirked and closed his eyes for a moment. He looked over at Hinata She was sitting a foot away from him, her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Naruto slid closer to her. He let her get comfortable being that close to him. Then he hesitated, he had never done this before and had no one to tell him what to do. As he was debating what to do next Hinata took the initiative and leaned against his chest. Naruto looked down at her in surprise before smiling and wrapping one arm around her. The watched the sun go the rest of the way down in silence. Once it was all the way down, Naruto walked Hinata back to the Hyuga compound.
"Well, good night. I hope you had a good time," Naruto said with a gentle smile.
"I-I did, I enjoyed the scenery," Hinata said, a little more comfortable talking in front of Naruto now.
"Good night," Naruto said again.
"'Night, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly. She opened the door and stepped through.
As she was closing the gate she heard Naruto say, "Hinata-chan, wait!"
She half stepped out of the gate and looked at Naruto, "Yes Naruto-kun?"
Naruto stepped up to her and kissed her. Hinata jumped in surprise, her face instantly going cherry red, before closing her eyes and kissing back. "Now I can say goodnight," Naruto said softly. Hinata just nodded and stepped back through the gate and closed it. She reached up with her hand and touched two fingers to her lips. She walked into her house in such manner until she got to her room, at which point she stripped down to her undergarments and laid down on the bed. She fell asleep with a smile and dreamed about Naruto.